Anything Goes: An Advanced Reader of Modern Chinese

by Chih-p'ing Chou, Hua-Hui Wei, Kun An

With Anything Goes , students with three years or more of modern Chinese language instruction, including those returning from study abroad in China, finally have an advanced, up-to-date reader to reinforce their language skills in one semester--while also expanding their understanding of contemporary China. Whether alone or as a sequel to All Things Advanced Reader of Modern Chinese , this state-of-the-art textbook is an ideal resource. The thirty lessons focus on articles that have appeared since 2002 in newspapers and magazines in China, Taiwan, and elsewhere. They deal with a colorful array of topics related to the economic, cultural, social, and political changes in China since the country's opening up in the early 1980s--from the "dangers" of the Internet, to marriage issues, to urban development's effects on traditional culture.



The lessons are concise, allowing a variety of topics to be covered in a semester. Each lesson is supplemented with extensive vocabulary lists, English-language glossaries, sentence-pattern examples, exercises, and discussion topics. Simplified and traditional characters are juxtaposed.



Field-tested both at Princeton University and in the Princeton in Beijing program, Anything Goes has already been warmly received by both students and teachers. It is now poised to be the definitive advanced reader of modern Chinese.

Genres: China

568 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2006

Reviews

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid educational resource. I liked the format of the lessons a lot better than what I've seen in other Chinese language textbooks. Working with this book will absolutely aid the student of Chinese in improving their reading comprehension, expanding their vocabulary, and familiarizing themselves with advanced sentence structures and grammar. I thought the book could have covered more chengyu, but that's more a matter of personal preference than a true critique. Highly recommended.

[Laura Stahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great resource for those seeking an understanding of social and political ideology in China. The prompts following articles make for good discussion and review of the material via debate and essay writing. While the format is not without faults, i.e. vocabulary lists that give very partial and often somewhat inaccurate dictionary entries, it is nonetheless a valuable compilation for advanced students of Chinese.